Decade of death: 10 greatest horror performances of the 2010s

Lupita Nyong’o in Us–Courtesy of Universal Pictures and Monkeypaw Productions

It seems that each year brings us a new horror movie performance to rave about, bestow awards-potential upon, and have a complete Twitter meltdown over when it doesn’t actually get nominated for anything. Horror is thriving, in regard to box office and critical success, and this decade could fairly be considered a new golden age for the genre. Even if you disagree with that statement, though, I think we can find middle ground in our discussion of the decade’s greatest horror performances.

Throughout the genre’s history, there have been several mesmerizing and iconic acting showcases — some awarded and some not even considered — but never have those performances come so consistently. In celebration of these actors and what they’ve accomplished over the past 10 years (or 9 and 1/3 years at the time of writing this article), we’ve compiled a list of the ten greatest horror performances of the decade. Many of our, and surely yours, favorites just narrowly missed our ranking, but that doesn’t mean they’re not tremendous in their own right. Keep the celebration alive and share your own personal choices with us in the comments and on social media!

Now, without further ado…